


Faith

by elumish



Series: Perceptive Reality [5]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s01e06 The First Commandment, Friendship, Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elumish/pseuds/elumish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam hadn’t been to church in a long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faith

Sam hadn’t been to church in a long time. Not since her freshman year of college, when she had found it too difficult to reconcile what she knew as a scientist with what she was being told to believe as a Christian. She had picked the one that mattered more.

But now, sixteen hours after Jonas’s death, she found herself sitting in the pews of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Colorado Springs, clutching Jonas’s Bible in her hands.

A body slid into the pew next to her, and Sam fought the urge to react. She had never been particularly jumpy after missions, but being here, it felt like she was about to crawl out of her skin. It was a woman, probably late forties, with shoulder-length brown hair and a kind smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Sam shook her head. “No, It’s…I was distracted.”

“I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Yeah.” Sam swallowed, her dry throat clicking. “My ex-fiancé died on a mission.” She held up the Bible, though she wasn’t sure what she was trying to say with it. ‘My ex-fiancé was shoved into the backsplash of a wormhole and all I got for it was this stupid book.’

The woman’s hand touched her knee briefly. “I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t even like him.” Her fingers were worrying the side of the Bible, back and forth on the outer edge. “He hit me.” Twice when they were together, and then she had left him, because she wasn’t a woman who would stand for abuse in a man.

“Oh, dear.” Now the woman’s hands rested on Sam’s, and Sam jerked away involuntarily.

“Sorry.” Sam went back to playing with the Bible. “I, uh, I’m really sorry. I’m not good company. I don’t even know why I came here.”

“We seek comfort in times of need.”

“Yeah.” Sam jerked to her feet. “Sorry.” Keeping her strides long, she headed out of the pews and to the back of the church, pulling the door open and stumbling out. She gulped in air, blinded by the light, and almost stumbled over the person sitting on the stairs in front of the church.

“Whoa. Carter.” A hand closed around her ankle, briefly, and then Colonel O’Neill unfolded to his feet on the stair in front of her. She stumbled back a step, disoriented, and one of his eyebrows went up. “You okay?”

Sam nodded, brushing the wetness from her eyes. “What are you doing out here, sir?”

He grinned at her. “Afraid of the hellfire if I go inside.” When she just blinked at him, he said, “I haven’t been to church since my wedding.”

Sam shook her head. “No, I meant…why are you sitting outside _this_ church, sir, not why are you sitting _outside_ of church? Sir.”

“Daniel said you would be here, and I just wanted to check to see if you were okay.”

“I’m fine, sir. Thank you.”

“We’re grabbing pizza. Want to join us?”

Sam took a deep breath, then let it out. “I’d like that, sir. I just need to…” She gestured with the Bible.

“Right.” Colonel O’Neill nodded. “See you there.”

“Yes, sir.”

He reached out and patted her arm, then turned, and she walked with him down the stairs of the church and out into the sunlight.


End file.
